We spent some time at my home, and then we packed the motorcycles and took off for the “Nature Coast” of Florida. There, we met a gang at our friend Dan’s camp for his annual Florida Winter Gathering, which is a simple way to designate a weekend of drinking, eating, laughing, and whatever else we can think of.
We had a good time. I hope you enjoy the pics.
John towed his trailer with a brand new BMW GS1250, and in a true “retired man’s” fashion, took his time getting to me. He got to south Louisiana safely and after unloading and unpacking, my wife and I took him to a local favorite restaurant of ours. We might as well get the food porn started proper.
After dinner, I opened the sippie sampler and we had a couple of snorts over good conversation.
I love to fish and in particular, chase Redfish along the coastal marshes of Louisiana. I’ve had probably the best overall fishing year in quite a while. John likes to fish as well, and I suggested that we go fishing. John purchased an out of State license and we left Monday morning for a favorite area of mine. Unfortunately, a frontal weather system had passed the day before, and on this day, the wind was horribly bad and we had trouble finding the fish. We did snag a few and to John’s credit, he beat the water diligently trying to make the best of it.
On the way home from the landing, I called my wife to discuss dinner plans. I was pleased to find out that our neighbors were boiling crawfish and they invited us to join them.
John is turning into a pretty good Cajun.
After dinner, we played trivia games and discussed the meaning of life. It was nice of my neighbor to prepare all of that for us.
Tuesday was Mardi Gras. I’ve had more than my share of Mardi Gras festivities in my life, and were it not for John, I probably would have opted to go fishing or riding. But when someone comes to your home and it’s Mardi Gras, you take him to Mardi Gras.
My niece lives just one block from the parade route, and she opened up her home for the whole family to have lunch and gather. The weather was gorgeous, and we had a good time.
It didn’t take long for John to get the hang of it!!
In the afternoon, I packed my horse for the trip.
And we ate some shrimp and crab gumbo that I had in the freezer for dinner.
On Wednesday morning, I fixed us breakfast and after the workday traffic rush subsided, we hit the open road for adventure.
John brought an extra Cardo helmet intercom with him, and he installed it in my helmet. It was nice to be able to communicate while we were riding.
This is a perfect example of an Acadian style home. Although this home is very old (perhaps 100 years), many modern homes (including my own) are constructed in this style still today. I find it functional for our weather, and attractive.
Looking quite well, my friend!!
Now, I’m leading us on this adventure the way I like to do it – with no real agenda. I have 3 days to get to Florida, and there is no rush. I have some idea of where we might end up tonight, but we are free to wander wherever our curiosity calls us. When we stop, I look at the map and the GPS, pick what road I like, and go there.
We ended up in McComb, Mississippi at lunch time. When I was a kid, my father traveled a bit for work, and I remember him telling me about this place in McComb to eat. I looked it up, and after all these years, sure enough, the Dinner Bell is still open.
What I remembered that was special about this place is the food is served on these huge Lazy Susan appliances attached to the table. You are joined with others to eat.
If you see something you like, you just spin the table and help yourself.
It was traditional southern food and it was pretty good. I grabbed a brownie without guilt. I’m on vacation.
After lunch, we winded our way through southern Mississippi, entering in and out of the Hommochitto National Forest and the Desoto National Forest. The roads are pretty good, and I was content to just enjoy the day. It’s not Yosemite and it’s not the Cherahola Skyway. But a seasoned tourer learns that its ALL good. Every place has its own attributes, all you have to do is to see the forest for the trees.
When you get right down to it, spending quality time with a good friend riding motorcycles on a beautiful sunny day is pretty dam fine. The rest is just a matter of semantics.
Late in the afternoon, we found a good camp site at the Paul B. Johnson State Park.
We picked up some groceries and John brought this foldable grill to cook the pork chops on.
I gathered some wood in the park and we had nice campfire after dinner.
We are having a nice trip.
On Thursday, we woke up to a chilly 40 degrees. We made coffee, stoked up the fire, and enjoyed the view of the lake from our campsite.
We took our time packing up and mid-morning we hit the road heading toward Florida. I found a couple of good roads in the Desoto National Forest that were nice and curvy.
This is the city of State Line, Mississippi, obviously on the Alabama/Mississippi border.
Somewhere in Alabama, we stopped at a roadside diner in the middle of nowhere. Good Swiss/Mushroom burger.
After lunch, I took a look at the map and realized that I wanted to avoid the big city of Mobile, Alabama. And then I realized that there are not many bridges that cross the Tombigbee River or the Alabama River. So I diverted a bit east to get across the rivers, and then turned south toward the Gulf.
We didn’t mind the diversion one bit.
I always enjoy riding through our country’s farmland.
I can’t remember the name of this town, but I thought this building side mural was nicely done.
Oh yeah, this is Brewton, Alabama.
We crossed into the panhandle of Florida and continued toward the coast. A few days ago, I scored a hard-to-find campsite at the St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. The campground was recently re-opened after a 3-year closure from Hurricane Michael. Everything is brand new.
Uh… yeah, this will do nicely.
Salute!
We grilled some boneless chicken thighs and again, a good salad for dinner.
The Park has a “no gathering firewood” policy, but I missed the camp store closing by 15 minutes. Right next to our campsite, I found a dead small cedar tree on the ground and cut it up discreetly. We had a good campfire after dinner.
I slept good, although it was a little bit warmer. Friday morning, we woke up early and I packed my tent up and was able to watch the sunrise.
We made coffee and John toasted our bagels proper.
These critters walked right past our campsite, seemingly unbothered. I hope they stay in the woods today.
A park ranger came by to tell us we can’t burn gathered wood. John talked to him and apparently, he wasn’t too torqued out about it. No harm, no foul.
This is a nice place.
John is retired from the Navy, and a ship mate and good friend of his is from Panama City, Florida. He recently passed away and John wanted to pay a visit to his widow. She lives only 10 minutes from the campground.
I can already tell it’s going to be another great day!
Ms. Ramona was expecting us and we had coffee and a nice discussion on the patio. She shared her family’s experience with Hurricane Michael, something I am familiar with. She was married to the love of her life for 55 years, and the pain of losing him was still very fresh, unfortunately.
My friend Nate from Louisiana is also going to the Florida gathering, and we’ve been texting each other hoping for a chance to ride together. As it turns out, Nate stayed with family in Pensacola the night before, and a morning meeting at Panama City was easy to arrange.
Earlier, John’s glasses broke at the branch and a repair was necessary. This is something near and dear to my heart, as I am blind in one eye, and I can’t see out of the other. I carry a spare set of glasses for such an occasion.
John used his ingenuity to fabricate a repair. A piece of well-fitting shrink wrap had him good as new! I learned something today – when I get home, some shrink wrap is going into my “parts under seat container”.
And just like that, we are off and running.
Today’s itinerary is quite simple. We are going to run along the gulf coast.
This is the part of Florida that I like. Once you get east of Panama City, the high-rise condos and souvenir shops disappear.
The road is straight and flat, but you don’t ride this road for the riding. You ride this road for the ride.
The weather is perfect, about 70 degrees and severe clear. I wouldn’t want to do this ride in July, but today, you can’t beat it.
Here, you still get that white sand, but the beach is not groomed, and shade trees are more plentiful.
We crossed Apalachicola Bay and stopped for lunch. I suppose one beer over lunch won’t hurt.
Cheers to you, my friend. I’m glad to share this trip with you.
Fish Tacos, not bad!
After lunch, the road takes us a little inland, heading toward the Florida peninsula. We are by ourselves and enjoying the ride.
I found myself thinking about Ms. Ramona, whom I met earlier. 55 years is quite literally a lifetime to me. It’s hard for me to imagine the emptiness she must feel. It’s yet another priceless reminder for me that indeed, life is precious, and there are some things we don’t get to decide. We must make the very best of whatever time we have and be sure the ones closest to us know how we feel about them.
Objects in this mirror are pretty dog gone cool, man…
In the town of Perry, we turned south on the 4-lane heading toward Crystal River.
About 5 pm, we arrived at Dan’s camp to find the festivities already underway.
You guys (and gal) are most assuredly up to no good.
Plenty of room in the campground area.
Dinner was Brunswick Stew. I’ve never had that dish before, and I enjoyed it very much.
After dinner, we gathered around the fire for some fellowship.
What’s better than one dessert? Two!!!
Scott gave me an award. Guess it’s official!
I slept good Friday night. My tent was comfortable and quiet, and I suppose about 8 ounces of shampoo the night before didn’t hurt either.
We took our time stirring up in the morning.
During the week, I told Dan that I was interested in doing a kayak paddle. This area is known for it’s crystal-clear spring fed rivers. I threw out the idea to the others, and a group of 10 of us decided to make a day of it.
The Rainbow River is gorgeous.
The water is really nice – 70-ish degrees year-round.
Dan has his own kayak but decided to just rent one and go with us.
We paddled up stream about a mile to the headwaters of the river. Good on ya, Bob!!
My waterproof camera came in handy.
Phil and Charlene opted to paddle together.
Then we turned around and started paddling downstream. As it is Saturday, it is a bit crowded, but there’s plenty of room for everyone.
Some divers are also enjoying their day in the clear waters.
We stopped at a side creek, and I paddled up a bit. The solitude is nice.
They critters were drying their feathers after diving for morning breakfast.
It was a nice paddle and I enjoyed it very much. Back at Dan’s camp, there’s still plenty of daylight left so, I decided to take a short ride and see what I could find. I asked around to see if anyone else wanted to join me, and Greg said “yes”.
We found a walking birding trail and took a walk.
It’s nice out here.
Back at the camp, the others have kick started the party already.
Dan is entrusting John with a sharp object. I’m giving them both plenty of room!
The charging station is in high demand.
Again, we sat around a nice fire and enjoyed each other’s company. These people came from all over the country, including one from Canada. We’ve known each other for years, and I always look forward to seeing my motorcycle friends.
On Sunday morning, I woke up and looked at the weather. I was thinking about taking 3 days to get back home, but the forecast is diminishing, and we decided to start heading more directly home today.
We packed our horses up and gave Dan and his lovely wife Tina a heartfelt “Thank You” for their tireless hospitality. We ran back up the 4-lane to Perry, and I took Hwy 20 west, which offered a change in scenery for us.
Again, the roads were quite desolate, and I had plenty of time to reflect on this trip, and things in general. Normally at this junction of a bike trip, I start to get melancholy. I start thinking about the highlights of the trip, and the countless highlights of my wonderful life. I’m so blessed with so many things, I can hardly describe it in words. I don’t take any of it for granted. I’m a Man of Science, but I do believe in the concept of Karma. I live a respectful and happy life, and I reap what I sow without pride nor prejudice.
In the deep south on a Sunday around lunchtime, options will be limited, but Mexican is always a good bet.
The steak fajitas were pretty good.
After lunch, we found ourselves in a predicament. I don’t care to ride Interstate highways of any kind, but our route called for a short 10-mile stint on I-10 near Pensacola. I know this piece of the highway very well, and I told John on the intercom to be alert. I knew traffic would be thick and these motorists have a blatant disregard for the speed limit. I told John that I would merge to the left lane and stay 1-2 seconds behind the vehicle in front of me, regardless of its speed. This is our safest bet, so we don’t have to worry about being run over or dealing with vehicles laterally. We ran the short stint at 95 mph plus, and I was glad to be done with it.
Back on the back roads, things got more relaxing.
I like the color in these fields.
It’s been a terrific week, my friend. You have led me well on practicing the fine art of retirement. In 13 short weeks, I’ll be joining the ranks, and I look very forward to more adventures with you.
With 500 miles in the saddle today, about dusk, we had enough and found a clean hotel in Wiggins, MS that would accept John’s reward points. I certainly couldn’t argue with “free”, and after four nights on the ground, we were both ready for a nice mattress.
I iced down the last couple beers I had from the weekend. After a good ride, there’s nothing like a cold beer.
It’s time to go home.
I woke up Monday morning well rested. Looking at the weather radar, the rainy weather front is heading toward us. So I put my Frogg Toggs on and we pointed the bike west in the direction of home. Shortly after we crossed the Louisiana border, we found the rain, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as we anticipated. In fact, we timed it so well, that when it started to rain harder, I just pulled over under a gas station canopy. We waited about 2 minutes for it to pass, and then it was all over. Within 10 miles later, the sun actually started to peek out and the temperature dropped 10 degrees and everything became quite comfortable.
In New Roads, Louisiana, we stopped for lunch. My shrimp poboy was OK, but the Onion Rings were really good.
After lunch, it was about 2 hours of easy riding back to my house. We had plenty of time to dry out the camping gear, wash the clothes, and I threw a bucket of soap on my motorcycle. John will head home tomorrow, so he pre-packed his gear and we loaded his motorcycle on the trailer.
I like using the GPS, but I sincerely hope they never stop making good ole fashioned State Road maps. It’s the only way to really get the 30,000-foot view.
That evening, we went out to eat at a local place that has good salads. John and I enjoyed telling my wife tales of our adventure. After dinner, we went to a local ice cream joint and washed down those salads proper.
The next morning, John got up early and made final preparations to leave. I shook his hand sincerely and thanked him for the fine company. We texted as he made his way home safely over the next couple of days. I enjoyed having my friend over.
This place where I live can be unbearable in the summer. But in the late Fall, Winter, and Spring, it’s pretty good. Just come hungry and come thirsty.
I’ll take care of the rest.
Stay thirsty, my friends…..
